PORTER PRIMED FOR USA OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

RICHMOND, Va. – Not many folks enjoy going to Des Moines, Iowa in June. That's not the case for rising junior Kiara Porter of the VCU Track & Field program.

Porter, who was an Honorable Mention and four-time Atlantic-10 Champion, will head to Des Moines this week to participate in the 2013 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

The Yorktown, Va. native is the first VCU track athlete to participate in the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. She will line up for the 400-meter aiming for one of the coveted spots on Team USA at the IAAF World Championships, which are later this summer in Moscow, Russia.

With her time of 52.33 at the NCAA East Regionals, Porter qualified for the national championship meet and is currently one of just 21 declared athletes in the 400-meter on the women's side. One of those 21 athletes is the reigning Olympic Gold Medalist Sanya Richards-Ross.

The first round of the women's 400-meter is slated to take off on Thursday night at 6:20 p.m.